MARGARET RAULIUK GOVERNOR GENERAL GOLD MEDAL SPEECH
MARGARET RAULIUK GOVERNOR GENERAL GOLD MEDAL SPEECH
Your Excellency Governor General Simon, Elder Dr. Campbell, Mom [Iris Rauliuk Sr.], Martha and Richard Sawchuk, Elder Hilistis Pauline Waterfall, Dr. Delorme, my loved ones, all the distinguished people who were present in the room, online, and you [if I haven’t included you yet]. It has taken a while to process my convocation experience. I had the unexpected honor both be awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal and be invited to give a speech to my graduating class of 2025 on June 6 that was approved two weeks prior to convocation. Unfortunately, the Governor General winners were informed June 4 that there was suddenly ‘no time’ in the program for the student voice and the speeches were cancelled.
This is a slightly longer, less tame version of the original speech. I invite you to take a moment to take a couple of slow, deep breaths to bring yourself more fully here with me in this moment and to consider the complex web of relationships through time that brought us together [in person or online] in Athabasca on June 5-6, 2025, or now in this moment as you read these words written with care. I offer welcome from the traditional lands of the Lekwungen speaking People, the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations, where every day I am grateful to live by tidal waters. Recognizing the land where I live that holds stories of the People invites an element of the sacred that connects me to this place -- opening space to plant a seed of good trouble that contains a spark of hope.
Many years ago, I attended an Athabasca University professional development event where Elder Dr. Campbell said there must be conciliation before reconciliation. Those words stuck with me. She was not talking about the legal definition of conciliation – which is essentially about coming to agreement to avoid court, but the Cree definition – which like the Heiltsuk definition, focuses on restoring balance and harmony between people and between humanity and the natural world. Here we bring intention to repairing what is broken with care and humility. This event is one thread that weaves the story of how I came to complete my doctorate in education.
The late Honorable Dr. Murray Sinclair was clear in saying the work of conciliation and reconciliation is primarily for non-Indigenous Canadians to do. We cannot expect the population Canada has disrespected and harmed to shoulder the weight of this burden. To be effective in supporting conciliation I have found it useful to bring love, compassion and cultural humility to unpacking anti-Indigenous racism in the history of my family, my profession, and my country. It is my experience that this is the journey that supports the righting of relationships.
My dissertation is not a traditional bound book. It is a digital, interactive, multimodal journey into deep reflection that includes words, images, videos and music. It opens space for multiple ways of expressing doctoral knowledge, and I can’t wait to see who does what next with the method. Athabasca University’s commitment to emerging scholarship is one of the things that makes it an international leader in open and distance education.
The work couldn’t have happened without the support of my supervisor and the innovative Faculty of Graduate Studies who were open to my efforts to disrupt and decolonize the dissertation into the 21st century. Thank you to Dr. Shawn Fraser and the awesome teams in the FGS and EDD program, and every person who has contributed to the learning success of every student who graduates. I send a special shout out to the volunteers who work so hard every year to make convocation a very special occasion.
I am grateful beyond words to my husband Paul Sawchuk and my supervisor Dr. Debra Hoven, who told me to “go make something new” — and meant it. Thank you, Dr. Claire Betker, for all those pandemic walks physically apart yet together as I grappled with what I was attempting to do, and Dr. Luisa Barton for your support. I could not have completed the work without the blessing and support of my Heiltsuk sister Elder Hilistis Pauline Waterfall or my academic sisters: Drs Rima Al Tawil, Mae Doren, Kathryn Johnson, Chadia Mansour and Saudia Jadunandan who pulled me back and held on to me until the end and beyond. When I looked out at all the graduates at convocation, I was so inspired by the stories of human potential I saw. Every one of us carries a story where we are a force for healing, growth and solution finding — for people, for communities, and for the planet.
We face several tipping points in the present and near future. The challenges we face are real – and captured in the collective trauma that impact spiritual, geopolitical, structural, social, environmental, and digital determinants of health of populations. Humans face wars, genocides, food and housing insecurity, continued mass migrations, economic uncertainty, catastrophic weather patterns, the underexamined threat to humanity that AI poses, and the dehumanization of others that being behind a keyboard or an identity protecting mask allows – among other priorities.
It can be overwhelming, but it is in human connection, in relationship with each other we will find a new way forward. Here, we find our capacity to respond to challenges as opportunities: with creativity, compassion, courage, curiosity, competence; a healthy dose of cultural humility, and a commitment to the truth of what is, rather than supporting the myth of human exceptionalism. Whether it’s through education, scholarship, practice, research, leadership, or quiet acts of human kindness, we can all be part of a collective movement toward a more just, sustainable future. We can all bring a little love to the table.
I hope my little seed of good trouble inspires you to imagine boldly, to act wisely, to listen carefully, and to collaborate across differences. Every person deserves to be treated with loving kindness and respect; to live in peace with their families in safe communities where no one goes hungry, everyone has access to primary care, education, the freedom to love themselves, other people, and other living beings without fear.
Thank you for the precious gift of your time and attention. I wish you, your families and your communities the peace that accompanies an abundant late summer picnic under a smoke free sky, access to timely primary care, access to life-long learning opportunities, physical and psychological safety, potable drinking water from the tap, bodily autonomy, and an experience of good health – however you define it.
Margaret Ellen Rauliuk RN MN EdD FCAN
Athabasca University Gold Medal Recipient 2025
A Settler’s Guide to Conciliation is available at http://hdl.handle.net/10791/487